Schools face frightening challenges in the decades ahead, and a fundamental question of education is how they will cope. Organization Development (OD), a process designed to help organizations meet the challenges of pervasive change, appears capable of helping in this situation. There have been several OD applications in schools, but no definitive…

Describes how the Dallas Independent School District uses the research and development concept of context evaluation to help direct changes in instructional systems, materials, and methodology. (Author/JG)

Studies are divided into two groups--results of experimental programs and effects of traditional schools. The research supports the effectiveness of nontraditional school programs. (Author/IRT)

The author describes the qualitative features of learning by school pupils in Russia who have completed education under an experimental system. This is done through analysis of certain aspects of their school work in the middle and upper grades. (Author/RM)

In a specially designed forum, 30 teachers and administrators joined a group of researchers to interpret some recent research findings. Discussion groups focused on four issues: teacher and principal morale, specialists and conflict, teacher teams, and "loose coupling" between the district and school. A dynamic exchange of ideas resulted, with…

The purpose of the teacher-learner strategy (TLS) project is ostensibly to test different instructional arrangements in different national contexts to see which ones obtain the best results. The logic of this approach is compelling. Yet it is the orderly appearance of the TLS project that might be its greatest problem. The doctrine of external…

The information and recommendations presented in this report are a distillation of a more extensive companion volume, "The Importance of Year-Round Schools." Together both volumes fully describe the second phase of a national study of year-round schools (YRS) that was initially begun by the National Council of Year-Round Education in 1975. The…

Using examples of school change, this document discusses both Swedish experiences with local educational development and theories of schools and change. An introduction gives background information on Sweden's schools and its parlimentary activities on education. Section 2 reviews the history of local educational development, especially…

This report describes the administrative structure, activities, and research projects of the Research Institute for Innovation in Education. The institute was established in 1968 as a cooperative project of the National Council of Jewish Women (USA) and the School of Education of the Hebrew University (Israel) with the goal of undertaking research…

Summative and formative evaluation of the Berkeley Experimental Schools Project (BESP) are summarized in this two-volume document. In Volume I, the evaluators answer the specific evaluative questions posed by the National Institute of Education, the primary funding agency for the alternative schools project. Out of an initial 23 alternative…

In the course of carrying out the technical tasks of the school, teachers encounter common problems that do not impose on those in managerial roles. School organizations are typically structured in such a way as to prevent the information sharing and processing necessary to confront these problems. A collective decision-making structure for…

Presents a series of ideas for educational reform, some drawn from the author's previous works. Experimentation is badly needed to see what will work at every level of education. Suggestions include encouragement of single-sex schooling and endorsement of allowing college curricular authority to reside with faculty. (SLD)

Organizes citations and annotations for selected literature on laboratory schools according to the following topics: the purpose of university and other laboratory schools; research, training, dissemination, and demonstration functions; evaluation, participants, and operation. (CAM)

Reasons for the present emphasis on all-year operation of schools differ from those prevailing 30-40 years ago. During the depression emphasis was on economy. Recently, a more sensible reason for an extended school year is coming into focus--the year-round school has educational value. It is not just something to be considered in order to save…

This annual report contains resumes of research projects, exemplary and innovative projects, and curriculum development projects. Projects were administered by state departments of education through research coordinating units (RCUs) in fiscal year 1978 and funded under sections 131, 132, and 133 of the Vocational Education Act of 1963 as revised…